Halfway There
by Bubbly88Tay
Summary: An accident forces two detectives to travel down memory lane while they fight for not only their lives, but the lives of their partner as well.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note's.**

**Tayler (Bubbly88Tay) - Hello everybody, and welcome to my brain child. This is my first time stepping into the whole 'romantic side' of Linstead, and I am more than honored to have my friend Emily stepping out and helping me out and writing this with me. This will be my second collaboration with another author. This one and then there is 'Say Something' with belle.0416 and I. **

**We are so sorry we haven't been getting chapters out there right now, and we feel horrid and we are working on it now. Here's something to ponder, would you rather quanity or quality? Same with my other stories, like the 'Different Mistakes' and 'When It Goes South.' Sorry guys.**

**That is all I have to say, and now for Emily who can further introduce herself (you'll be seeing more of her stuff soon if McShipper and I have anything to say about it) and the story.**

**Emily (emilyjaaayne) - Well hello guys. I'm pretty new to the public part of the fandom with my blog (sasskingjay) as I always watched from a far until I got involved with the most amazing group of girls, and completely new to writing but Tay and Jayne (mcshipper) managed to drag me out of my shell and help Tay on this amazing brainchild. I never thought I'd be so happy with a single chapter and not nervous about publishing but here we are. I'm so grateful to have been able to collab with such an amazing writer for my first piece of work and I'm really happy with where we're heading and hope you guys will be too. Please review and let us know how we're doing, it's my first shot but I know I want to continue and get better so give us all the feedback you can. Enjoy!**

**Halfway There**

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><p>Erin listened to the final few notes of the song that blared throughout the sound system in the vehicle and watched as Halstead's fingers brushed over the screen of the music player. The music player was just some old smartphone they had invested in and had boosted the storage capacity. Now, they kept it in the vehicle that carted them all over with over one thousand songs to choose from, which made being the passenger that much more tolerable for Jay, 'the house husband.'<p>

Erin stared ahead of her at the road as tree after tree passed. Now and then, she would see a mailbox, but they were so far from society that the skyline was no longer visible. She was waiting for the next song, one that was almost certainly going to be sung by what Jay liked to call 'the greatest bands in history.'

Erin didn't agree with his opinion, much rather choosing Tupac's music over the rough tones of Queen, but this was Jay's retreat for the most part, so she decided that for once, she would listen to whatever classic rock song he would let loose throughout the vehicle, and she would maybe even enjoy it.

Jay 'aha'd quietly as he tapped on the screen of the music player, and closed his eyes as he leaned back against the seat back and dropped his hands into his lap. Suddenly, the mellow tones of Uncle Kraker's, Drift Away, began to hum throughout the speakers. She smiled as the wind coming from the windows allowed his hair to flop in every direction, and as the sun reflected off his easy going face.

The trip to a lake about an hour outside of Chicago hadn't exactly been spontaneous, however it had been bumped back nearly two months after every weekend they had taken off, had required them coming into the precinct for some emergency or another. Once it was twelve dead bodies found top side in a cemetery, and another time it had been a freak storm that required all officers and detectives on hand to help out around the city. More than a few times it had been the bounty that rested on Jay's head, whether they found a lead, or Jay's life was put into some sort of danger. Now that they were finally on the open road, they had turned off their phones, and were just letting the cool air of an Illinois fall warm their features.

Getting out of the city had been tense, with the traffic and Jay being overly alert but since then, the pair had remained silent. Jay would move his hands between his lap, her hand that rested peacefully on the center council, and on the music player, as DJ had been his designated job after Erin had called driving the pair to and fro.

Jay's hand was suddenly back on hers, as she let the hand that had just pulled her sunglasses down from on top of her head rest once again on the stick shift. The smile seemed to be permanent on her face as she breathed in the fumes and felt overly calm, collected and composed.

Suddenly Jay's voice, as sweet as the wind moving throughout the leaves in the trees, began to dance along with the notes that played throughout the car. Something that only she had known, was that Jay was a tremendous singer, however he kept that gift to his self.

And now Erin was aware of the quirk.

Erin continued to drive in a peaceful, serene way, as her head bobbed to the simple melody. Before she knew it, the song was over, and there was no tapping away at the music player indicating another was soon to come.

Erin glanced over at her partner, both on the job and off, and smiled. His eyes were still closed, and he still rested in between the seat and the door beside him, but now, his chest ebbed up and down in slow, peaceful movements. Thankfully he had fallen asleep.

That had been another reason why they had left as suddenly as they had this weekend. Jay needed the off week. He had been working himself to the core after he had been attacked in the alley outside of Molly's, leaving him in a near death state for over a week. He had quickly recovered after the week had come and gone, but after finding out that Bembenek's bounty was the cause of it, Jay hadn't stopped to eat, sleep, or drink for anything, and that had been a few weeks ago.

Finally Voight had forced him to take a weekend, meaning Lindsay had to get him out of the city.

Lindsay thought back to them actually coming out and telling Voight that she and Halstead were an item. He hadn't been pleased but had finally come to accept it. With accepting that Ruzek and Burgess became bitter. However, soon after that, the newly planned budget allowed another member to join the team and the group quickly made up. Now Burgess had a spot of her own on the team.

A shiver, and a gust of cold wind had brought her back to the present as she once again glanced to the hollow shell of a man. She smiled as she realized that for the first time in weeks, he looked happy.

Erin once again watched the road as she continued on for another few miles before turning down an unmapped dirt road that led to the cabin that they had rented for the weekend. She was halfway down the road, casually glancing over the edge of the railing, and down into the ravine below, when she felt the car shudder.

She slammed her foot on the brakes, but it didn't help as she lost control of the car. The car suddenly began to spin until suddenly it wasn't spinning anymore, but was rather falling. She didn't remember when she closed her eyes, but all she could remember feeling was a sudden, bone crushing stop, a scream that had to have come from her, and then all was still, and all was silent.

Slowly, she began to hear birds chirping and a small creek bubbling along over weathered down rocks somewhere, which she could only assume led to the lake. She slowly, and carefully tried to look around her but whimpered as she turned her neck towards Jay. She stopped moving immediately and instead opened her eyes and just used them to look around her. She was staring ahead of her, at a tree that had stopped their ungraceful slide down the ravine. The tree was positioned up against a vast section of the passenger side of the hood which had been pushed back in the impact, and she couldn't see over the crumpled metal.

Her heart began beating roughly in her chest when she finally realized that she couldn't hear Jay. At all.

Her vision was only giving her sight of the far corner of the spiderwebbed window, and when she failed to be able to look at Jay, she closed her eyes and set her jaw. She slowly, and painfully turned her neck, and when she finally made it to the point where she felt she could open her eyes, she stopped moving and peered over at him.

She let out a breath when she saw his chest rising and falling. His head was laying where the window would have been had it been rolled it up, and his eyes were closed, but he was breathing. The airbag that had deflated was covering the majority of his body, but from what she could see, the tree that stopped them wasn't a complete saviour. She winced as she saw how the impact of it had caused the dashboard on Jay's side to cave completely, his body suddenly looking fragile under the burden of the weight that he was completely oblivious to.

She felt herself feeling the beginning stages of panic as she looked on. She let her hands unbuckle her seatbelt and as soon as the seatbelt was no longer restraining her, she inched towards Jay, firstly grabbing his hand and then feeling along the edges of his legs that still showed. She cringed when she felt small amounts of blood lining them, but not nearly enough to make her panic grow. When she finished her search, she placed her hand at the base of his neck and checked his pulse, and finally she sat back in her seat when she realized that it was a little slow, but it could have been because of him sleeping.

Her heart continued to race in her chest, despite the calming breaths she practiced on herself, so grabbing Jays hand, she opened her mouth, and began to tell the first memory of her and Jay that came to mind.

"Hey do you remember how you can always tell when a big bust affected the unit; how Voight would lock himself in his office with the paperwork, Antonio would do whatever he could to take the kids for the night, Ruzek would take Burgess home for a few hours, Atwater would call Vanessa on his way out, Olinsky would cook for Meredith and you would just shower and shower in the locker room while I prepped for a run?" She spoke out to an unresponsive Jay in the passenger seat, glancing up and down his immobile body, hoping he'd hear her and respond.

"You mean as you hung around for me while I showered? There was no way it would take you that long to prepare for a run. C'mon Linds," she expected to hear him croak out but nothing, just the breeze passing and rustling the airbag that comforted Jay like a blanket.

"Every time you came out of the shower you'd ask me why I was still at the precinct and every time I'd try and conjure up some on-the-spot excuse that kept me around for a while. I guess that must have been offensive to think I'd fool you with my stories, you are one of our best detectives after all. Bar me of course." She was trying and trying to set him up for a cocky, typical Halstead reply and despite all of her failing attempts, she carried on. She was talking to Jay but part of her found her own voice a little more comforting than silence on the dirt road. The last thing she needed was a reminder that they were unlikely to be found anytime soon. She tried to avoid looking below his neck, seeing his well-built body struggle under the crushing weight of the dashboard. The last thing she needed to do was panic and that's exactly what that sight was making her do. Panic out of her mind. She spoke again to distract herself.

"There was one time, after that drugs bust where we found Nadia when it all clicked to me. You must have caught me following that drop of water down your body." She remembered the way she glanced up from tying her lace to talk until she had noticed that Halstead had just stepped fresh out of the shower, wrapped in his signature Bon Jovi towel with his usual brooding look painted on his face. Her eyes fixated on a single drop of water that was making its way down his neck. From his neck it fell down into the curve of his collarbone, joining others on its way down his body. Occasionally it would stagger as it cut over abs and landed on his V-lines to meet his towel.

"The self control it took to look away was unbelievable. I blame that for the reason why the excuse about losing my keys was so weak actually, considering I keep them in my drawer all shift. See, you have that effect on me." And she was right there. Not just trying to get something out of her partner but genuinely admitting that she knew well before they came out to each other that the chemistry they had was crazy. He could be stood brooding in the corner or fresh out of the shower but the feeling that being in his presence gave her was always the same – like the Fourth of July was happening right in her stomach.

From what he had told her a little over a month later, he had felt the same way staring at her in her 'skimpy running apparel.' His words, not hers. His.

Jay could hear Erin's voice rambling in the back of his head; he just wasn't sure where it was coming from. Fear shot through his body as he lost the trail of Erin's tone and silence took over. Everything was dark, everything was hurting and his eyelids were heavy – a feeling he was familiar with yet not a fan of. He tried to open his mouth and call out to her but his throat felt dry and coarse. He swallowed and was about to try again until she interrupted his thoughts.

"I know you said I didn't have to hang around for you but I wasn't kidding when I said you'd miss the extra time you get to see my smiling face," Erin kind of laughed as she said it, she remembered how the grin formed on Jay's face when she tried to catch him out and how her own lips curled at the sides in response to seeing his face light up a little. That's all she wanted from him right now, just something, anything.

"Uugh," he croaked, groaning slightly as his body jerked from the shallow laugh he had tried to muster. He knew exactly what she talking about by a single sentence. "If by face… you mean running gear," he managed to voice as he opened his eyes to see her lock her sights on him, her face lighting up when she realised she wasn't dreaming and he had finally come round.

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><p><strong>Closing Author's Note's<strong>

**Tayler - So what did I tell you? Didn't I tell you this chick (Emily) was amazing. She is an incredible author, and this story wouldn't have grown to more than a thought if it weren't for her. Her enthusiasm and her constant nagging for me to actually do something (In the best way possible. I would have rather sat in a closet at work and tried to catch up on my sleep rather than type anything.) So yes. Emily, this story will be amazing and I am so excited for it to blossom further. **

**As for the readers, you all are also amazing, and if you know you have talent and even if you don't, come out with it! Write something, and if you don't want to go public with it, send it to me! I would love more than anything for this fandom to grow, because it is an amazing fandom. Thank you all so much for reading, and like Emily said above, please please please leave feedback. I love love love hearing from you all!**

**Emily - What can I say, I'm surrounded by the best writers in the fandom so I think it's safe to say I've had the best influence. I feel like a little protégée of all of you combined and I would not be writing this if you hadn't convinced me to and supported me through it so thank-you for that. I never knew being part of a fandom would be so rewarding. Tay's talent was one of the things that made me want to start writing so completely this with her is just amazing and I hope you all feel the same. Thank-you for reading and pretty please leave feedback, love you all. We'll update asap!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Author's notes.**

**Emily (emilyjaaayne) - hey guys, after all of your amazing feedback I could not wait to delve into writing another chapter so here it is. My note is short and sweet today and let you all know about the fundraising I'm doing for a charity that Sophia is an advocate for, Pencils of Promise. I'd really appreciate anything you can do to help me raise for them, from anything from sharing my page or donating as much/little as you can. The link is on my profile! I really enjoyed writing Erin and Jay in this chapter and revealing a little more about their situation so I hope you enjoy.**

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><p>She stared as the corners of his mouth curled up to form a 'typical Jay' smirk at the comment he'd just made.<p>

"Jay!" She sighed slowly with relief that he was conscious and talking. "How are you feeling?"

"A bit better at the thought of you in that gear," he grunted as pain shot up his entire body when he tried to turn towards her, "what's going on?"

"We had a little accident, we're kinda stuck and I panicked when you wouldn't wake you so I just started rambling."

"That's good, I think?" Halstead replied, taking deep and heavy breaths to prevent the panic he was beginning to feel. Every inhale, exhale, inhale hurt more than the last but, after shooting a glance at his lower body and realising that he couldn't feel the weight of the entire right side of the car, he had to do something to counteract the anxiety that was filling him to the brim. "How long until help?"

"That's the thing Jay," she said as the glimmer of light that was in eyes left as soon as she paused, "our phones are locked in the glove compartment, I thought of trying to get in but I didn't want to aggravate any damage it might be causing you." She shot a look to the debris that buried him.

She tried turning her head away from Jay and towards her door but the slightest movement felt like her neck breaking over and over. She raised her hand to her nape to see if she could feel any tender spots to suggest it was just bad bruising, instead she felt blood matting in her hair. "Shit shit shit," she thought, could this get any worse? The last thing they needed was the both of them in risk of critical condition, if both lost consciousness then they'd be screwed. Gritting her teeth and wiping the blood away so Jay didn't see, she moved a whole 90 degrees and attempted to open her door.

No luck, great.

"Looks like we're stuck."

Jay stopped to think for a second. There was no point in letting her know right? The least he could do was make the wait for someone to turn up as calm as possible, he hated seeing her worry, nevermind worry in a confined space when there was nothing either of them could do.

He liked to think that keeping it from her was for her benefit but he'd be lying to himself. He knew

that if she panicked then he would and he didn't want to show her that side of him, he didn't want to admit all of the possibilities if he really couldn't feel his legs. That side that he didn't even want to see himself, the one he thought he left back in Afghanistan when he came home.

"What are you thinking?" she asked as she could tell he was thinking hard. She reached over and cupped his cheek in her hand, rubbing her thumb along his jawline. He burrowed his head into his shoulder, trapping her hand in between trying to stall so he could avoid telling her the truth.

"Well, your trip down memory lane reminded me of that time your self control completely caved, for the first time anyway" he grinned at her, knowing she'd click straight away, "we may as well make the most of this because we don't know how long we're gonna be stuck in here for."

_They were back in his apartment, Erin curled on one end of the sofa while Jay got them a couple of beers in preparation for the game. He made his way back and rested his feet on the coffee table. It was nice when they spent nights together like this. Difficult days at work seemed to wash away like rain when they were alone in front of the tv. Or alone in any situation. But he was sick of 'nice' with her. It was so damn difficult for him to keep his composure when she'd throw her legs over her lap and flex her toes to rid them of cramp, or the way she'd furrow her brow in angst when the Sox were in the lead. It took everything he had to try and not push it a little and see where her limits were, whether or not she'd cross the line given the chance._

_Erin watched out of the corner of her eye as he slid back, sinking into the sofa with a look of pure comfort washing over his face as he got comfortable. Times like this when they were completely comfortable in silence made her question what the hell they were doing. Times like this when she wanted nothing more than to curl up under his arms and watch rather than from the other side of the sofa. She wondered what would happen if they did push the boundaries._

"Oh god, that one," her eyes rolled as she remembered the Chicago Cubs v Boston Red Sox game back at his apartment, "you mean that one where _your_ self control faltered, you started it remember!" She wasn't lying, he did make the first subtle move, and the next but she didn't object and was secretly grateful because if he hadn't she wouldn't know where they would have stood now.

_For once, she wasn't sitting lengthways like usual, but instead she sat propped up against the back, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Jay nearly mirroring his position with her feet crossed, also on the coffee table. _

"_So," he started as placed his hand on her thigh to see how she'd react. Not that she'd left much room for him to put it anywhere else but never mind. "How do you think the game will end, do you think the Cubs will have had a worse day than us by the time it's over?"_

_She glance at his hand, to him, his hand and back to him, offering a smile before she spoke. His touch burnt through her jeans and sent tingles all the way up her spine so she uncrossed her legs to give him a bit more room._

"_The day isn't over yet," she glanced up to him. "But I hope they do well, they've had a killer season. An indians says they thrash the Sox."_

"_Oh, you're on. The Sox had 3 new signings, they're a whole new team!" He replied, moving his hand slowly, but firmly up and down her leg while she was distracted by the thought of takeout._

_The friction between his hand and her thigh did more than burn this time. It sent a fire raging through her body, a fire she didn't want to extinguish. She thought the feeling he gave her by just looking at her was intense but his touch was something else. _

"You weren't complaining though, let's be real Erin."

"Shut up. Shut up, I was just glad you'd finally plucked some balls and made a move already," she laughed. "It took you long enough, I thought Voight had you cuckolded permanently."

"Look Lindsay, if I wasn't a little bit stuck you'd have totally just gotten a dead arm right there. I was simply taking my time to suss you out that's all, didn't wanna get anything wrong, did I?" He winked.

_The night went on and as did the game, and Lindsay felt so content in Jay's silent company. She felt at home with his touch warming her up from the inside out. It made her a little nervous at first but it ended up feeling like it was just another part of her. Every so often he'd rub up and down, or stroke gently with his thumb. She loved it but she couldn't help but wonder how he knew where to touch, or if it was just coincidence. The longer his hand lingered, the comfier she felt and she gradually slid deeper into the sofa, and deeper into Jay's shoulder, her head fitting right into the nook where his neck met his shoulder._

_So this is what it felt like, he thought. This is what it felt like to have the elusive Erin Lindsay draw back her walls slowly, and cave to the chemistry they both knew they had. Jay knew it wasn't much but it was more than he'd had so far and he was happy with that. He counted anything that brought him even remotely closer to Erin as a blessing and was willing to be patient to do it right with her._

"_Hey girl," he whispered in her ear as her placed a finger under her chin and raised it up to just below his level when he realised she was drifting off. A couple of beers tended to do that to her, her tiny body could not handle it's drink. "It's getting late, do you want me to call you a cab?"_

"_Mhhmh," she mumbled, looking up to him and shaking her head before burrowing back into the hollow of his shoulder. "My night has been too nice to end it alone, I told you it would get better," she smiled to herself as the words escaped mouth._

"_Is that so?" Hearing those words made Jay incredibly happy. It was a simple night but it meant that she hadn't been bothered about his subtle moves. He felt her head nod into his body._

_He lifted her chin again, with a little struggle this time to hold eye contact with her. It felt like it lasted a lifetime but the simple thought of doing what he wanted to do next had his heart racing and his arms shaking._

"_You can stay but I can think of something that could make it better," he mumbled, not disturbing their eye contact. _

_She knew what he wanted do and she wanted him to do it quick, before she came to her senses. She bit her bottom lip a little before he reached her mouth but when he did, every little bit of her exploded inside. Her blood felt red hot as it flowed through her veins, her head floating well above cloud nine._

_Jay couldn't believe his luck. His mouth meshed with Erin's like a perfect jigsaw. Her soft lips were an idea contrast against his rough ones, chapped from another Chicago winter. Their tongues danced as he brought his hands to her hips and pulled her on top of him._

_From her hips, his hands ran up to her waist and her chest and back down to her waist. His rough hands fit into her smooth curves as he held her up. The longer they kissed the rougher and more desperate Erin became, she soon started to roll her hips to the rhythm of their kissing and as much as Jay loved it, he had to stop her._

"_Woah tiger," he chuckled as he pulled away, still remaining centimetres away from her face, leaving his hands on her waist. "As much as I love, uh, this," he said as he glanced up and down her body in all of it's beauty, the dim light from the streetlights inching its way into the room and falling into all of her curves. "You have had a little too much to drink for anything more than this to be okay."_

"_Always the gentleman, Halstead." She smiled and looked down. She was kind of sad that he had interrupted their fun but she knew he was right. She moved his hands from her waist and hopped off his lap. _

"_It's also later than it was before, if you didn't notice."_

"_Good thing you said I could stay then isn't it," she laughed as she made her way into his room to pick one of his tees out to sleep in._

_Jay followed her after a few minutes, giving her time to change. He opened his bedroom door to find her lying in his bed, half asleep. He smiled at himself as he watched her body rise and fall while she breathed before stripping down to his underwear and joining her, hoping he wasn't pushing it but too afraid to wake her and ask. Instead, he just lifted his duvet slowly and crept in and turned to face her as she opened her sleepy eyes._

"_This isn't weird, is it?" She asked, barely managing to her eyes open._

"_Not at all," he replied as she rolled over, pulling her into him so his body moulded around hers._

"I don't think you'll ever know how happy that night made me y'know," he mentioned quietly, reflecting on the start of their relationship. "It might sounds stupid but I'd waited so long to get closer than 'just partners' to you." He glanced over and looked directly into her eyes. The reality of the situation started flooding in, how they didn't know how the day was going to end.

She felt a pang of guilt. She knew that wasn't his intention but she had messed him around a bit, or thats how she felt anyway. For so long she just knew that something more between them could have ruined everything so she ran from it for so long.

"Well Halstead, I'll have you know it never felt so good to cave in. I was glad I finally gave up running from us," she replied, reaching over and rubbing up and down his arm.

"Look I hate to ruin everything right now but what the hell are we going to do Erin? We're stuck in here with no way of getting out." The desperation in his eyes told her there was more that he was letting on.

"I don't know Jay, I really don't."

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><p><strong>AN - Tayler - **

**Hey all, I am the reason to blame why this chapter is so late getting up. I have been super sick lately, and as soon as I started to feel better I had to dive back into work and it has not left me much time to do anything. **

**This chapter is literally all Emily's. She did an amazing job and I am so sorry I couldn't post sooner.**

**Thank you all for the reviews and the feedback, you all have been amazing, and Emily, you are still just as amazing.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys it's Em here! So excited to get this out there since it's been so long since an update but it's been a busy few weeks for Tay and I. I got to give it to her, this chapter is mainly hers and she did incredible. The next one will be great too, I promise. Don't forget to let us know what you think, we thrive off feedback. Enjoy!**

**And now it's Tayler. I first off want to apologize for my lack of updating. I hope to change that doubly this year. So expect a shit ton of stuff from me, and hopefully I will be able to give you all something to look forwards too. Enjoy this chapter, which is extra long because you all are absolutely wonderful people.**

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><p>Jay was leaning back against the headrest again. Erin had gone quiet, reminiscing on the game and probably assuming that that's what he was doing as well, and Jay wanted to. He really did. However, his mind was on more pressing matters. Maybe it was the blood that was slowly creeping down Erins back, staining her shirt as it fell while she sat and continued to breathe easily, or perhaps it was the cold from the slowly darkening Illinois sky that was floating through his open window and out Erin's that left his body shaking slightly from the cold.<p>

Maybe it was the fact that he couldn't feel anything beneath his abdomen, which throbbed with every breath he took. Whatever it was, Jay was slowly beginning to feel the onslaught of panic, both inside his mind, and in the physical world.

His head was finally starting to clear, the fogginess left over from the crash had left his thoughts in shambled little spurts, but as the hours had ticked by, he slowly grew more aware, and he was finally getting a grip on his surroundings.

He knew he was trapped, he knew he was injured, he also knew that any chance that he or Erin had for escape laid in the glove box that was almost jammed against his body.

Looking over at Erin, who not only looked to be lost in her own thoughts, but asleep as well, Jay took a deep inhale and reached down and slowly opened the glove compartment, when it stopped against his abdomen, he could see the phones in the dim light that was left streaming in the car. The light filtered through a crack that if he twisted and flattened his hands correctly, he could fit them through and grab the phones.

He flattened his hand as flat as he could get it, and then another breath later, he jimmied it in as carefully as he could. He bit his lip as he concentrated solely on the task at hand, then smirked as he grasped one. Carefully, he slid it back up and out, catching it with his other hand. His smirk fell as he noticed that his cell was completely and irrevocably, broken.

"Damn, I liked that one too." he murmured as he felt around for the second one, and felt a ping of hope as he found Erin's and held it in his grip. He sent a silent, quick prayer up to whomever was watching over them that day, and he slid the phone up and out of the glove box, catching it once again with his other hand. He slowly brought himself to look at it, and nearly sighed in relief when he noticed that it lit up almost immediately-

-but nearly shouted out in frustration as the phone flashed that it had no signal across the top bar. He dropped the phone in his lap and let his hand fall with it as he pulled the other out of the glove box. His panic continued to rise when he couldn't feel the phone. He covered his eyes with his arm and laid his head against the headrest.

"Erin?" he croaked out, the emotions starting to eat away at his stoic exterior.

He didn't get a response and he once again looked over at her sleeping form. "Erin. I gotta get out of here. You gotta help me out here." She didn't respond again and Jay started to breathe heavily as he reached over and touched her face as gently as he could from the awkward direction he was sitting and as far away as he was. He let his hand mingle on her cheeks for a few seconds, relishing in the familiar touch that brought him a sense of calmness, and then he remembered. Erin was injured, and they were both trapped, and now he needed to wake her up.

He poked her gently next, and when that didn't work he settled with a slap, and then two. When he reached for a third one, Erin groaned a deep groan as she moved her hand to swat away Jay's. "Stop it."

"Er, can you just wake up for a little while?" He didn't realized he was pleading for it to happen, until he stopped talking, and Erin's eye shot open. His voice was laced with the emotion, the stress of the day really starting to get to his already stressed filled body. "The cell phones aren't working,"

"You got them?" Erin licked her lips as she carefully turned in her seat to face Jay. He nodded in response as he smirked half heartedly. He lifted up the useless hardwares from his lap. "You shouldn't have done that, you could have hurt yourself." She chastised, grabbing the phones from him and carefully checking them over. Jay's was definitely broken, and her's was running off of a very little amount of battery.

"I figured the risk would have been worth the reward, but that wasn't so. Your's is out of signal and mine is smashed." Erin sucked in her bottom lip, knowing that she would have done the exact same thing had the positions been switched.

"Whatever." She turned off the phone, and placed it on the dashboard. It was then that she saw the sky. It was dusk, and it was getting much colder than when they had set out that morning. "Shit."

Halstead stared at her critically, his panic rising yet again. "What!"

"It's going to get cold, and it's going to be dark soon, and -" She stopped as she focused on him, "and you're shaking?" She stated it like a question, but she knew he was, her vision was blurry, but not that blurry.

Jay looked down at his hands, which shook with every breath he took. "I guess, probably cold. I was just," he paused, thinking of a word, "I think I'm afraid."

"Afraid of what?" She asked calmly, taking his hands in hers as she carefully leaned over the center council and held his hands close to her chest.

"I don't know. I think I was afraid that you just died on me." Jay let out a harsh chuckle at the end of that statement as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.

"I know that feeling all too well Jay Halstead." Erin replied sympathetically. "Back when you got mugged? I was still in Molly's when the passer by ran into the bar, yelling about a mugging out in the alley.

"_Hey guys, I'm going to call it a night. I am tired, and somebody refuses to share the bed with me when I drink too much." Jay called as he stood up from the booth. He motioned to Lindsay with his forehead as he smirked over at Ruzek and Burgess. Ruzek in turn pulled Burgess closer into his body._

"_Excuse me? I know you army guys can hold your liquor but I refuse to deal with you hung over tomorrow morning." Erin justified clearly, as she turned her head towards Jay, a cheeky grin on her face. Jay leaned down and pressed his lips gingerly to Erin's and then pulled away just as quick. _

"_Whatever, I will meet you at home?" Jay questioned, still inches from her face._

"_IF you get some unpacking done." Erin bargained as she crashed her lips sloppily against his again. _

_Jay pulled away and pretended to weigh the options in his head. He grinned further as he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not. See ya later." He pushed his lips against hers one last time then pulled away heavily as he squeezed past bar patrons. Than with a shout over his shoulder, directed at Adam and Kim, "See you two in the morning, don't let her drink too much more."_

_Ruzek and Burgess offered a wave as Jay disappeared into the crowd, and then Burgess pulled away from Ruzek with a hearty shove, "Why's he leaving in such a hurry?"_

_Erin took a swig of her beer and continued to smile happily, "His bike just came back from the shop after that incident a few months ago and he want's to spend all the time he can on it for the next couple of weeks before the snow starts to fall and he promised me he would keep it in the garage after that."_

_Burgess nodded as Ruzek raised an eyebrow. "You guys got really serious there didn't you, what, with you two in your own house and even with you guys squabbling like a married couple." Kim carefully nudged Adam with her elbow as she shot him a chastising look. _

"_Adam." _

"_Yeah, but I think we waited long enough to know that we definitely want to take it seriously, and we even got Voight's blessing with all of this." Erin repeated what had been made known to the team for weeks at that point. _

_The trio continued to talk at a leisurely pace, with Gabby Dawson joining every few minutes or so, making sure they were all good. It was close to a half hour after Jay left and Erin was about to stand up to leave, when the doors to the bar slammed open, and the room fell silent. "Someone call 911! There's a guy outside and he's been beat up pretty bad. I-I don't think he's breathing! I NEED HELP!"_

_Gabby and Erin were the first to run outside. Gabby with an extensive first aid kit from under the bar, and Erin with her sights set on the citizen who reported it. Erin's gut was churning as they rounded the corner that led to the parking lot. _

_Erin wanted to stop when the first thing she saw was Halstead's motorcycle still sitting peacefully in the parking lot, but she didn't as she was led to a pair of dumpsters that sat up against the building. "He's in between the dumpsters."_

_Erin nodded and slowly peered around the first dumpster, her heart in her throat as she figured without any convictions that it was Jay. First it was his shoes, than the paleness of his hands, and eventually it was his messed up mane of hair that sat clumped to his forehead in little rivulets of blood. His lips, the lips she was so attached to less than an hour before were coated in a layer of blood as was the entirety of the left side of his face. The surrounding wall and dumpsters had streaks of blood running down them all and the ground seemed to have a sheen coat of the cooling life force. _

"_Jay." Erin croaked in finality as she kneeled down carefully and slowly pressed her fingers to his neck. Tears sprung to her eyes when she felt the thready pulse after a few seconds. "Gabby, he's alive." _

_Gabby shoved her way into the crack and a set of hands pulled her back as Peter Mills and Antonio both shoved their way into the tangle of limbs, attempting to offer their assistance. Erin only gave the hands enough thought to find out that they were Adam's before she began to bounce up and down nervously on the balls of her feet. _

_Minutes passed with hardly any conversations besides the directions that Gabby was handing out to selected men and women in the crowd. An ambulance came after a short while, offering Erin hope as Jay was loaded up with a sense of urgency. The ambulance left quickly after they arrived, without Erin in it as Gabby pulled her off to the side. _

"_Erin, I know you want to hear this from someone you trust, and hopefully I am that person."_

"_Hear what?" Erin countered, pacing to her car quickly with Gabby in step._

"_He's in bad shape. Ribs are broken, lungs are punctured, probable head injury, possible spinal and neck damage, massive internal bleeding, etc, etc. I could go on, but I am not going to. But his wallet was still in his pocket, and his watch was still on his wrist." Erin wanted to collapse to the sidewalk and cry while hearing the description. She had overheard bits and pieces of the jargon between her and the medics when they had arrived, however, the extent of the damage hadn't been revealed to her at that point._

"_Whatever, some other unit can deal with that. All I care about is being with the man I'm in love with. So Gabby, with all due respect, shut up. I can not handle it right now." Erin shoved open her car door, her words leaving Gabby stopped in her tracks. _

"_Are you coming or not?" Erin called back. Gabby quickly shot her head up, her bottom lip quivering gently. Erin took a breath as she shoved her shaking hands into her pocket. "Look, I'm sorry. I know you were just trying to help, and that information DOES help. It means this was either a senseless beating, which is unlikely because of the extent of the damage, in which case, this was a targeted attack. But it's like you with Casey. I have to make sure Jay's OK. So please, don't take anything I say at the moment to heart, I'm just trying to register it all, y'know?"_

"Wait, you nearly bit Gabby's head off? I thought you were balling your eyes out at the thought of losing me." Jay chided, smirking gently as bit's of stress eased carefully onto his face. Hdeed heard this story before, but never through Erin's perspective.

"Balling my eyes out didn't come until they said you were comatose." Erin smirked gently concentrating on rubbing his hands. The truth is, she had wanted to ball her eyes out the moment she had felt Jay's clammy skins beneath her fingers that night, but she hadn't had the luxury of it. She knew that everybody was watching her and gauging her reactions.

"Yea, well, I was balling my eyes out when I woke up with a new hair cut." Jay muttered, rubbing the patch of hair on the side of his head that covered the scar that had nearly ended his life. The surgery had resulted in an impromptu haircut that Jay was less than pleased about when he had finally woken up.

"I do recall walking in to that sob fest." Erin replied, raising her eyebrows again.

"It was a sob fest, per say." Jay muttered as he focused on the hands lingering on his.

"It was before you woke up." Erin countered as she thought back to the hours she had waited at the hospital, waiting for any word after the surgery.

"_Any news?" Antonio asked as he jogged into the tight waiting room, glancing quickly to Voight as he rushed up to Lindsay and wrapping his arms around the younger woman. Erin in turn shook her head into Antonios chest as willed the tears down again. He accepted the answer and pulled away from her. At the moment, it was only Hank, Erin, and Antonio in the room, every other detective in the unit was out scouring the streets trying to find who had done it. _

"_How about you? Any news on your end?" Hank asked from his spot next to the door. He was relatively calm considering the situation, but Erin knew that it was a facade for her sake. He was furious, and he would have much rather been down on the streets, but he had put Antonio off the search and had planted himself here._

_Antonio shrugged. "From what we are getting from our informants and such, Jay's name was still on the radar because of the bounty, however, no one is stupid enough to try and act out on it because of a certain Intelligence detective." _

"_You're kidding? So the odds of it just being a couple of dumb ass kids trying it for kicks is becoming more and more likely?" Erin raged as she threw her hands down to her sides, her fists in balls of rage. _

"_No, because the video shows that they were obviously trained to-" Antonio supplied before Erin rose on hand in a stopping motion, her eyes full of fury. _

"_There's a video?" Erin seethed. _

"_Erin!" Voight barked. "Of course there's a video, it was outside of a cop bar. Now listen to what he has to say."_

"_Voight! We have a video of the guys who did this! Who put Jay HERE! You want to tell me why we aren't after them instead of going after why? Because I sure as hell would love to know!" Erin shouted as Voight stood up and closed the door to the room quietly._

"_Erin, it's not always that simple." Antonio quipped, his temper rising. "You of all people should know all about that!"_

"_You know what? I don't care! You don't seem to understand that this is Jay we're talking about here. When it was Jules, we all did everything in our power to catch the guys, but now someone has a thumb up his ass!" Voight's head shot up at the string of words a he debated stepping into the conflict. _

"_Guys-"_

"_You don't have the right to bring her into this!" Antonio breathed, bringing a finger up to point at her._

"_She was my friend, just like Jay is yours. You should be trying to catch the assholes behind this, but instead, you want to-" Erin stopped as a knock rapped against the door and a doctor dressed in scrubs walked into the room followed closely by a plain clothed Alec Wilhite. He pushed past the other doctor and immediately closed in on Erin, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his arms. "I came as soon as I heard it was Jay."_

_Alec had been in the know about Jay and Erin before most people because Erin trusted him and loved him like a brother. So they talked, a lot. He and Jay got along famously as well, so it all worked out for Erin._

_Antonio spun around to face the other doctor in the room as Voight sat back down and he watched Erin carefully. "I assume that you all are with Jay Halstead?" The doctor asked carefully as he stepped into the room, watching as his colleague and Erin pulled apart. _

"_I'm his girlfriend." Erin supplied steadily, shooting a wary glance at Antonio. _

_The doctor nodded solemnly, "Very well. My name is Paul Root. I operated on the detective's head. However, I was given the specifics of the injuries, so I am here to let you know what they are."_

"_Can you just get on with it please? I'm short tempered as it is." Erin replied, as Antonio snorted slyly off to the side. _

"_And if you could speak in English, that would be great." Voight muttered from his seat. The doctor nodded and continued._

"_First of all, Jay suffered a bleed in his brain, resulting in some swelling. We did have to drill a hole into his skull and insert a drainage tube so that the swelling can be reduced. Jay didn't suffer any broken bones besides his ribs miraculously, however one of the ribs that did break ended up puncturing his left lung which we had to re-inflate, so he also has another drainage tube there. Um, the only other injuries, beside an extensive array of bruises and a laceration in his head, was the left kidney which suffered a laceration and we ended up being able to save."_

_Alec's breath caught at the extensive list of injuries, and he pulled Erin close to him again. "Damn."_

_Erin ignored the reactions from her coworkers as she processed in her own way. "When can I see him?"_

_The doctor took a deep breath and looked steadily at Erin. "Right now he is being situated up in the ICU, but you should know something before we can take you to see him."_

"_Oh no." Alec whispered as Erin tensed up. Hearing the news, the official rundown of Jay had been the hardest thing she had gone through in a while, she wasn't sure how much more she could take._

"_He's in a coma." The doctor replied as Erin relaxed again, suddenly the emotions she had been pushing down were begging to make themselves known. _

"_How deep?" Alec asked carefully as Erin pulled herself away. _

"_Deep." the doctor responded warily as Alec eyes shone with understanding. _

"_Is that all?" Voight asked standing up carefully and ignoring the other occupants of the room. _

_The doctor nodded and Voight waved his hand. The doctor took his cue and left, which left the four in the room. "Alec, and Antonio, Erin and I need a minute." The two stared at each other carefully, then left the room almost as quickly, leaving Erin and Voight._

"_Erin?"_

"_Voight, I really need to be alone right now."_

""_Erin." Voight tried again, a little bit more longing in his voice. _

"_Please." She asked again, her voice cracking as tears brimmed in her eyes. _

_Voight nodded, understanding where she was coming from, but refusing to let her be alone when she needed someone most. _

"_I won't let you be alone right now." He said, as he wrapped her in his arms and let her grieve. She cried carefully at first, than that turned into a sob as the pair eventually sank to the floor. Lindsay said nothing as she continued to think about Jay. About the kisses they had shared hours earlier, and the way his hands felt on hers._

She gripped his hands a little tighter as she relished the feel.

"Why'd you take it out on Antonio?" Jay asked solemnly, as if hearing the tale of a death.

"Because Jay, I thought he knew what I was going through, and I thought he wouldn't take it to heart, but I went too far, and no one should have to have their loved ones thrown in their faces. But most of all Jay?" Jay's eyebrows rose in question as Erin stopped caressing his hands and looked up to his face. "I was afraid."

"That makes two of us." Jay responded quietly as he leaned towards Erin and pressed his lips against hers desperately, and she reciprocated.

* * *

><p>Hank sat alone in his office at the end of another overwhelmingly busy day. He found solace in sitting with his door open, having eyes on all of his hard working detectives taking a breather and enjoying the tediosity of paperwork having worked their asses off all day. He took this time to really get to know his family. The way Antonio glanced at the photo's of Eva and Diego surrounding his computer and smiled every few pages he completed, reminding him to be thankful that he'd ended another operation safe and happy. Sometimes catching the photo of himself and Jules, washing sadness across his face. Alvin would take off his beanie and slouch back into his chair, fiddling with his wedding ring on occasion. Ruzek and Atwater would exchange stupid giggles and raised eyebrows between shots at their phones, to lighten the atmosphere of what was usually a rough day.<p>

He could almost see Lindsay sat at her desk, furrowing her brow at a sentence that she'd written that made no sense because of how exhausted she was, and Halstead's lips curling as he watched her do so when he looked over to their empty desks. Hank didn't need to be a genius to see the sparks flying between them, even when they were sitting in silence but he was apprehensive. In house romances never ended well, and didn't want one of his best detectives in the making to focus his attention on anything but the job at hand. Jay was learning how to channel his military persona into aiding his police skills rather than letting them override his detective work and he was doing it damn well. His sniping skills challenged Olinksy's and closed up some of the most important cases they'd covered pretty neatly. He could turn him into amazing police, and he knew that Erin could derail him.

He missed having them at work while they were away but after the attack on Jay, Hank owed it to him to get himself away for a while so he could keep himself safe and in a good frame mind until they could tie off the bounty. He was amazing police but Voight had seen him with this head out of the game with the Rodiger case and couldn't risk Halstead nor Lindsay. But, even with them settled away for the weekend at his lake house, he still worried about both of his detectives. He glanced away from his hardworking team towards the chrome clock hanging on his wall, his eyesight following the second hand as it fell past 8pm.

"C'mon guys, get yourselves home," his deep, gravelly voice broke the silence as we walked over and leant on his door frame, "it's been a long day."

The room soon filled with vibrations fromfd seats scuffling across the floor as soon as Voight stopped speaking, leaving him alone upstairs. He recalled telling Lindsay to keep him updated while they were away and couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't.

"_Hank! We'll be fine, we're two grown detectives if you hadn't noticed," Erin groaned as she stuffed a couple of tees into her overnight bag in preparation for her weekend with Jay at the lakehouse. Excitement mixed with a tone of annoyance filled her voice as Hank nagged about staying in contact, "we wanted to leave our phones and just relax for the weekend."_

"_I know that much Erin, but as we've seen, grown detective or not, a 100k bounty is a bit too much for you both. I need you to be safe. Which means sending me a text every so often, okay?" He stood his ground on this one. "You can drop your phone in a drawer for the rest of it, just humor me so I can actually sleep at night."_

"_Fine, fine," she caved as she held up a navy, backless bodycon dress against herself in the mirror. "I'll let you know when we're there, and I'll give you a shout before we go to bed every night, meet me halfway?" _

_Hank watched his daughter-figure fold up the dress and place it on the top of her bag. He couldn't believe he was sending her and Jay away because of the bounty. "That'll do me just fine." He smiled, knowing they'd be out of harms way as soon as they got out of the city._

Halstead and Erin had left fairly early on, and he was growing concerned at the lack of contact. They must have made it to the lake house by now, it had been well over 12 hours. Furrowing his brow at the though, the Sergeant rooted through his drawers amongst the fraying photos and old paperwork to find his phone. It was ringing for Erin's cell long before it reached his ear courtesy of speed dial but it failed to ring even once before reaching through to her voicemail. Despite not getting through, hearing her voice through a prerecorded message settled his nerves just a little. After a few more useless tries, he gave up and found Halstead's number but again, nothing. Straight through to voicemail again. He knew Erin and Jay better than that, even if Erin were to be silly enough to let her phone die, Jay wouldn't, not at a time like this.

That was what sent alarm bells for Voight. He had a real bad feeling about it.

**A/N: Literally guys, 10 pages of stuff here so we really hope you enjoy and we can't wait for your feedback. We thrive off of them, and the more reviews we get, the more motivated we are to get our chapter four out! Be sure to check us out on Tumblr, we love to interact with you all!**

**Love yall!**

**Em & Tay**


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